zimbabwe: MDC softens stance to defuse tension

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has threatened to hit his opponents with "the full wrath of the law" if they tried to destabilise the nation. He said this on Tuesday just hours after Zimbabwe's opposition party offered a political truce with the government. Before Mugabe delivered his speech, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) announced that its lawmakers would not boycott Mugabe's speech - as they usually do - but would remain in parliament as part of an effort to build goodwill to end the political standoff.